Clear assignments without project administration
A Free Asana Alternative for Teams That Need Less Software
Asana is designed to coordinate detailed projects and cross-functional work. Turnboards focuses on the shorter loop between seeing a job, assigning it, and marking it complete.
For a two-person planning team, Asana Personal may already be enough. Turnboards becomes compelling when a hands-on crew wants a smaller mobile workflow without timelines, portfolios, forms, and reporting layers.
Get Turnboards free
Free-tier disclosure
Asana also has a free plan
Asana Personal is free for up to two users and includes unlimited tasks and projects with list, board, and calendar views.
Published pricing checked July 27, 2026. Verify current terms on the Asana official pricing page.
| Plan | Published price | Annual example or limit |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | $0 | Up to 2 users |
| Starter | $10.99/user/month billed annually | $131.88 per user each year |
| Advanced | $24.99/user/month billed annually | $299.88 per user each year |
Annual examples multiply the published monthly price by 12. Taxes, promotions, billing terms, minimum seats, regional pricing, and product changes may affect the actual amount.
Turnboards is right for…
Choose less software when the work is straightforward
- The team needs a shared operational list rather than project plans.
- Workers should see assigned tasks without learning a complex workspace.
- Boards, notes, due dates, and three statuses cover the process.
- The app needs to remain useful during temporary connection loss.
Choose Asana when…
Keep the capabilities your process depends on
- You need timelines, dependencies, milestones, or Gantt planning.
- Your managers use goals, portfolios, dashboards, or workload reporting.
- Forms, rules, approvals, and integrations drive the workflow.
- Several departments coordinate structured projects in one system.
Feature fit
Turnboards and Asana solve different-sized problems
This comparison focuses on workflow fit, not a claim that one product is universally better.
| Decision | Turnboards | Asana |
|---|---|---|
| Core model | Shared boards and work items | Projects, tasks, goals, portfolios, and workflows |
| Team planning | Assignments and due dates | Dependencies, milestones, timeline, and workload |
| Reporting | Current work by status and assignment | Dashboards, portfolios, goals, and reporting |
| Offline use | Local queue with sync after reconnecting | Primarily connected project collaboration |
| Best fit | Crews doing practical day-to-day work | Cross-functional teams managing structured projects |
A low-risk migration
Try one active list before moving everything
- Choose one active Asana project that functions mainly as a team task list.
- Recreate its current sections as a Turnboards board using Backlog, Active, and Complete.
- Move only actionable tasks, their owners, essential notes, and real due dates.
- Keep Asana for projects requiring dependencies, forms, automations, portfolios, or reporting.
Example Turnboards items
- Inspect unit 4
- Pick up replacement hardware
- Call customer about access
- Finish paint touchups
Turnboards is intentionally not a full project-management suite
Turnboards does not currently advertise advanced automation, reporting, integrations, portfolios, resource planning, compliance workflows, time tracking, Gantt planning, or enterprise administration. It is a focused shared work list for small teams.
Questions before switching
Frequently asked questions
Is Turnboards a free alternative to Asana?
Turnboards is currently free to try and is intentionally smaller than Asana, with shared boards, assignments, notes, due dates, and three statuses.
Does Asana offer a free version?
Yes. Asana Personal is currently free for up to two users and includes unlimited tasks and projects.
Is Turnboards better than Asana for every small business?
No. Asana is a stronger fit when a business needs timelines, forms, dependencies, reporting, integrations, portfolios, or automated workflows.
Can Turnboards import Asana projects?
Turnboards does not currently advertise an Asana importer. Start by manually moving one simple operational list rather than an entire project archive.
Why choose Turnboards instead of Asana Personal?
Choose Turnboards when its focused mobile workflow, organization switching, and offline queue fit the way a hands-on crew works. Choose Asana Personal when its broader project views and integrations are more valuable.
Try one shared board with your team
Turnboards is currently free to try. Pricing may change as the product grows.
Get Turnboards free
Trello, Asana, monday.com, Todoist, ClickUp, and Notion are trademarks of their respective owners. Turnboards is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by these companies. Product and pricing information is provided for comparison and may change.